Three-year and six-year graduation rates of college-ready students

Methodology

1) IPEDS
4 Year Institutions
Completion Numerator: Total number of students from denominator cohort completing a bachelor degree or equivalent within 6 years (150% of normal time).

Transfer Numerator: Total number of bachelor degree or equivalent seek students from denominator cohort transferring to another post-secondary institution within 6 years.

Denominator: Total number of full-time first time baccalaureate seeking students from the cohort 6 years prior minus allowable exclusions.

2 Year Institutions
Completion Numerator: Total number of students completing a degree or certificate within 3 years.

Transfer Numerator: Total number of certificate and degree seeking students transferring to another post-secondary institution within 3 years.

Denominator: Total number of certificate and degree seeking students from the cohort 3 years prior minus allowable exclusions.

2) EMSAS data can be used to more clearly articulate what happens throughout Missouri public system.
Numerator: Total number of students completing a bachelor degree or equivalent at any Missouri public institution within 6 years.

Denominator: Total number of college ready baccalaureate degree seeking students from the cohort 6 years prior to report year.

Definitions

Allowed Exclusions: include students who died or were totally and permanently disabled; those who left school to serve in the armed forces; those who left to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; and those who left to serve on official church mission.

College-ready: IPEDS includes all degree-seeking students and does not parse students enrolled in remedial/developmental coursework during their first term at the institution. EMSAS methodology would allow for this exclusion but would not include independent institutions and some transfer students. Nor for comparability with other states

Sources:

EMSAS, IPEDS

Limitations and Issues:

EMSAS data would include only public institutions. IPEDS data would include other sectors, but would not facilitate one potential method for isolating “college-ready students”. IPEDS data would also not enable inclusion of students who graduated from a different public Missouri institution from their institution of initial enrollment. Both methods would exclude students who entered in the spring term, although EMSAS term registration data could be employed to identify a full-year entering cohort.